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BEST AVALABLE COPE PATBNTED JAN. l2, 1904.

J. MOTAMMANY.

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BEST AvAlLAeLE 00m PATENTED JAN. 12, 1904.

J. MGTAMMANY. VOTE COUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.18. 1897.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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BEST AVHAELE COW No. 749,446. PATENTED JAN. l2, 1904. J. MOTAMMANY. VOTECOUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILBD Nov.1 8, 1897.

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N0 IODEL.

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BEST AVALABLE COP` Nol 749,446.

PATENTED JAN. l2, 1904.

J. MCTAMMANY.

VOTE COUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 1a, 1897.

N0 MODEL.

BEST AVNLABLE @GPX No.`74`9,446. PATENTE!) JAN. l2, 1904.

J. MG'I'AMMANY.

'VOTE GOUNTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 18, 1897. H0 MODEL.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

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EEST AVAILABLE com i UNITED STATES Patented January 12, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

.'IOIIN MCTAMMANY, OE SPENCER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOE, BY MESNEASSIGNMENTS, To MCTAMMANY EALLOT COMPANY, OE PORTLAND, MAINE, ACORPORATION OE MAINE.

VOTE-COUNTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 749,446, dated January12, 1904.

` Application filed November 18, 1897. Serial No. 658,894. (No model.)

To aLl whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN MOTAMMANY, a citizen of the'United States, anda resident of Spencer, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inVote-Counting Machines, of which the following is a'speciication.

' This invention has relation to counting-ma- 1o chines as isexemplified by those employed for counting the number of perforations ina tally-sheet, the perforations in said sheet having been previouslyformed by suitable voting mechanism under the control of a voter.

I 5 The object of the present invention is to provide certainimprovements in countingmachines of the character mentioned whereby thesimultaneous operation of certain counters are prevented, so that if themachine be used 2o for counting votes and the record-sheet shouldcontain two votes by the same voter for two or more candidates for thesame office both votes would be nullified and his vote would not becounted.

2 5 The invention therefore consists in a counting-machine provided withmeans for disregarding and preventing the simultaneous actuation ofcertain counters, whereby two votes by a single voter for differentcandidates for the same of'tice will not be counted. It further consistsin the improvements which 1 have illustrated upon the drawings and shallnow proceed to describe, and point out more particularly in the appendedclaims.

3 5 Of the drawings, Figure l represents in plan view a machineembodying my present invention. Fig. 2 represents a front elevation ofthe same. Fig. 3 represents a vertical longitudinal section through thesame on the line 40 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 represents in section aportion of the machine. Fig. 5 represents a partial section on the line5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 represents a tally-sheet. Fig. 7 illustrates inperspective the air-ducts and the valve mechanism. Fig. 8 represents inperspective a portion of one of the channel-boards, the lchanneltherein, and a lportion of the operative mechanisms.

Fig. 9 represents a portion of Fig. 3 on a larger scale. Figs. l0 and 1lshow one form of counter or tabulator which may be used.

Referring to the drawings, c represents a frame having bearings on whichare j ournaled two rolls b b', said rolls being parallel with each otherand arranged so that a tally-sheet c wound upon one roll can be unwoundtherefrom and wound upon the other roll, a portion of the sheet beingstretched between the two rolls for cooperation with the mechanismhereinafter described. 6o

Means are provided for rotating one ofthe rolls Z) to unwind the sheetfrom it and wind it upon the other; the means shown consisting of agear-wheel b2 upon the shaft of the roll L', which gear-wheel is drivenby a pinion b3 65 on a shaft b4, mounted in suitable bearings upon theframe c. The shaft is driven by a belt-wheel b5, from which a crossedbelt be eX- tends to a belt-wheel L7 on the crank-shaft d, to behereinafter referred to. Clutch mechanism bx -is placed upon the shaft114 to detach the belt-wheel from the shaft and permit the withdrawal ofthe tally-sheet from the roll o', the shaft b for the roll beingextended and provided at its end with means for receiving a crank bywhich the said roll b may be rotated to unwind the tally-sheet from thewinding-roll b.

rlhe tally-sheet c contains a record of certain items, as the votes of anumber of voters, 8O the said record being made by perforating the sheetwhen the latter is in a voting or other machine having, for instance, aseries of parallel rows of punches arranged to be moved by the voter.Each row of the punches is ar- 8 5 ranged to make a row of perforationsacross the tally-sheet and represents all the candidates of onepolitical party. For example, the first row may represent the candidatesof the Socialistic party, the next the candidates of the Populist party,and so on, there being as many rows as there are tickets or parties tobe voted for, the number of tickets being five in the present case. y

The voting-machine is provided with shcetfeeding mechanism which movesthe sheet lengthwise at right angles to the rows of punches after eachvoter has exercised his right, so that the perforations made by eachvoter are moved away from the punches before the next voter manipulatesthe punches. The punches of each row are arranged out of alinement Withthe'punches of the other rows, so that if'all the punches of the machinewere pushed in by a voter the result would be the arrangement of holesshown in Fig. 6, each row -representing all the candidates of one party,while the perforations at the upper ends of the rows form a row thatextends obliquely of the sheet, as indicated by the line of Fig. 6, thenext lower perforations forming an oblique line y y, and so on acrossthe sheet. All of the perforations in each oblique line represent votesfor the same oiiice. For example, all the perforations on the line a:represent votes for the candidates of all of the parties for governor,the'perforations on the line y y representing votes for the candidatesof all the parties or tickets for lieutenant-governor, and so on, thearrangement being such that 1f the sheet has been removed endwise aftera voter has finished hisvote the next voter in repeating the sameoperation will make perforations along a line parallel with the lines 5vor y y, but separated therefrom, so that all the perforations that canbe made in the sheet are distinct from each other, it being impossiblefor two perforations to be run into each other at any part of the sheet.

A voting-machinev adapted to be operated as above indicatedisrepresented in my application for Letters Patent of the United States,led July 11, 1896, Serial No. 598,863.

In case the voter votes properly-t'. e., for only one candidate for eachoiiice-his record will not be as indicated in Fig. -that is to say, atno part of his record will there be two perforations in an oblique line.The presence of two or more perforations on one line indicatesconclusively that a voter has voted for two candidates for one oflice,so that his vote, so far as that oiice is concerned, is void. The recordmade at the tally-sheet by a voter properly exercising his right wouldtherefore never be as shown in Fig. 6 and would not show twoperforations on any one of the lines there represented.

My invention is intended to count all of the votes or perforations thathave been properly made and to throw out or nullify and not count eitherof the two votes that have been made by the same voter for twocandidates for the same office after the tally-sheet has been removedfrom the voting-machine and applied to the rolls I) b. Y

c represents a suction box or chamber from which air is exhausted by aseries of suctionbellows e', which are operated` by a crankshaft d,before referred to, and connectingrods e2. A regulating-bellows f isemployed at the opposite end of the suction-box for,

BEST AVAILABLE coP.

maintaining a substantially constant vacuum in the suction-chamber e.

At g Q are indicated counters for tabulating the number of votes foreach candidate for each oflice, each particular counter being actuatedby a rod g onV a suction-bellows g?, communicating with a windway t, inturn communicating with the suction-box e. There are as many of thesewindways as there are oices and candidates for oilice. One of thecounters is shown in position in Fig. 9 and is illustrated in Figs. l0and ll. It may be briefly described as follows, though no claim isherein made thereto. g3 indicates a slide to which is attached theretracting-spring Q7. The Slide has a pin g4, adapted to be engaged bythe linger g' on the bellows g2 and moved to cause the pawl g5 to rotatethe ratchet lg6 on the arbor g8 one step. On the arbor is an index tocoact with a graduated scale, neither of which is shown. The orificeleading from the bottom of the suction-duct into each of the windways isclosed by a valve e', placed normally upon a centrally-pivoted lever c",and is held downward to close the said duct by a spring il. There beinglive candidates for each office, as governor, there are five of thesevalves closing live windways L. Placed upon the top of the suction-boxbetween the rolls 7) b are mounted a series of five channel-boards j j,each containing a series of wind channels or ducts j', which correspondin number and arrangement to the perforations on the tallysheetrepresented in Fig. 6. The upper edges of the channel-boards arearranged to support a portion of the tally-sheet between the rolls b',the sheet being guided so that if punched, as represented in Fig. 6, anddrawn over the 4channel-boards all the perforations on the sheet willcoincide simultaneously with the chan-- nels j and air will be drawnsimultaneously through all the channels to the'suction-box'e by thebellows e', the channels j" being connected with horizontalconnecting-channels 7c, formed in the top of the suction-box e, and eachof the channels /c being connected with the suction-box by four portst'. The-hori-- Zontal channels t are parallel and each onecommunicatesby a vent k3 with the suction-chamber e. Thevent k3 ispreferably formed by covering the opening 10 with a diaphragm 11 andperforating the same with an opening of minimum size, such as would bemade with the finest needle, whereby said vent acts as a bleeder for thechannel is. Any air which may leak into channel is exhausted throughbleeder k3 into suction-box e, and as a result a substantial vacuum isnormally maintained in said channellalas well as in the suc-5% tion-box.Rolls r r' are mounted in swinging IOO IIO

frame-bars r' Il" and operate to hold the'tally-` 1- material, adequatein cross-diameter to close the duct 7a2, anda diaphragm m2, of leather,

upon which the said disk is supported. A lever n is fulcrumed to the topof the suctionbox and is provided with a pin n', pressed against abutton ma, secured to the under side of a diaphragm m2. On the end ofthe lever n is a valve 0, which closes the port la' /c is and the threeducts in alinement therewith. A spring n2 serves to hold the valve onormally against its seat. able guides, rests upon the end of the leveri', before described, and projects against the free ends of the lever n,so that if the said lever ny be depressed by the valve m it will raisethe valve d and allow the air from the bellows g2 l to rush into thesuction-box and move the iinger g to actuate the counter. Thearrangement of channels and ducts in the top of the suction-box isclearly shown in Fig. 5, by which it will be seen that each channel lais provided with four ports ,Ic/,leading into the suction-box, and afifth duct k2, arranged substantially below the channel j", and also avent k3.

In practice there is a substantial vacuum maintained at all times in thesuction-box e by the exhausting devices, the vents or bleeders 7c3serving as exhausts for the channels 7c and the inlet-channels j",whereby the tallysheet is held closely against the top edges of thelatter by the suction, the sheet being guided by the rollers 7'. Duringthe transit of the tally-sheet when a perforation thereof comes intoalinement with one of the channels j (for example, that one indicated bythe atmospheric air will rush therein and from thence into thecorresponding passage la, as indicated by the arrows z, Fig. 3. The vent7c3 being too small to carry ofl:1 a substantial portion of the incomingair, the latter passes through port and exerts a pressure upon valve mand diaphragm m2, inflating the latter, and thereby causing thedepression of lever n, as illustrated in Fig. 9. This action is due tothe fact that there is a vacuum beneath said diaphragm and atmosphericpressure above the same. In moving to the limit of its action lever nIdepresses pin p, and the latter being in engagement with the lever z"moves the latter so as to raise valve from the passage it, allowing theair from the bellows g2 to exhaust into the suction-box, as indicated bythe arrows z', Fig. 9. 'Ihe entire operation just described is almostinstantaneous, and as soon as the passage j is closed by the perforationof the tally-sheet leaving the same the levers n' and a" are returned totheir normal positions by springs n2 and 2, respectively, while the 60bellows g2 being open to the atmosphere will become inflated through theusual air-inlet with which it is provided. 'The area of the diaphragm m2is large as compared to the area of each of the ports k', and hence said65 diaphragm, being in direct line with the inlet,

A vertical pin p, mounted in suitessi AVAILABLE com is depressed andengages pin p, raising the valve z', whereby air enters the suction-boxand temporarily destroys the vacuum therein. This operation isinstantaneous and takes place before anypressure from the air-enteringpassage j" can exert itself on the top faces of the valves 0 alongchannel Hence it will be readily seen that the pressure of springs n2 isquite sucient to hold levers n in place against the pressure of airthrough ports It" and will only allow said levers to yield under theexpansion of their respective diaphragms. It will also be noted that thetally-sheet in its movement will almost immediately close the inlet tochannel rc, and any air that remains in channel It after the operationof the counting mechanism will be exhausted through the bleeder k3,whereby the vacuum in said channel c will be again established; but if avoter should have inadvertently or maliciously voted for two candidatesfor the same oiiice the tally-sheet will cause two perforations to comesimultaneously opposite two of the channels f-for example, thoseindicated by :c and Fig. 7. As the air simultaneously rushes into bothof these channels j" in the manner heretofore described, the diaphragmsm2 beneath each of said channels are inflated and their respectivelevers n depressed. The depression of the lever n of the channel causesvalve o to uncover' the port 1' of the channel 1, connected with theinlet ac', and simultaneously therewith the port it" of inlet .fr isuncovered in the same manner. The effect of uncovering both of saidports is to open the two channels to the vacuum of the suction-box, thusimmediately exhausting the air from said channels L' and equalizing thepressure on both diaphragms m2, whereupon the springs n2 will returnlevers n to their normal positions. It will be observed that levers 1tare free to move a certain extent before engaging pins p. The slightestmovement, however, of each lever uncovers the ports It" of the otheradjacent channels Z5, with the result that said levers are returned totheir normal positions, as just described, said return beingaccomplished before they can engage the pins y). Under thesecircumstances the valve z' is not opened, and hence the counters willnot be operated.

In the description which I have given of the machine I have referred toonly one group of counters and one group of channels in the boards j inorder to more clearly explain the operation of the machine, and in viewof the fact that the great political parties in the United States areive in number I have described each group of channels as beingnumerically equal thereto, or one channel for each candidate for thesame oihce, as governor, lieutenant-governor, &c. but it will beunderstood that there are as many groups of channels as there areparties to be voted for, and hence each group is entirely independent ofthe oth- IOO IOS

l D 4 l 749,446 @esaminare COA ers. The first channels in the boardsconstitute the first group, and the pneumatically-actuated counterswhich correspond thereto are automatically prevented from operating whenany two of the channels are simultaneously opened. The second channelsin therespective boards constitute the second group, and their countersare unaffected by the mechanism which prevents the actuation of thecounters of the iirst group, there being of course an independentsimilar mechanismA for said second group. The other groups are similarlyconstituted, and consequently the counters of the several groups may besimultaneously actuated, although those of each group are prevented fromso doing. Therefore when the tally sheet is drawn through the machinethe votes for all the candidates for different oiices are counted, andthe result can be ascertained immediately from the counters.

The machine may be run at a high speed, and the votes which wereproperly cast will be counted, while those that are void will beautomatically rejected. I

It is evident that the machine as described may be varied greatlywithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. rlhevalves and the pneumatic actuators may be replaced by others ofdifferent construction, 'and they may be augmented by secondarypneumatic actuators, as shown in my Patent No. 550,054, dated November19, 1895. Having thus explained the nature of the invention anddescribed a way of constructing and using the same, though withoutattempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or allof the modes of its use, I declare that what I claim is- 1. Avote-counting machine having pneumatic provisions for automaticallypreventing the counting of two or more votes cast by the same voter fordifferent candidates for the same oice.

2. A vote-counting machine provided with same oiflce.

' 5. A vote-counting machine having counting mechanism, a pneumaticdevice for operating said mechanism once for each vote, andpneumatically-operated means for preventing the operation of saidpneumatic device when-two votes are simultaneously presented.

6. A countingmachine having counting mechanism, pneumatically-actuateddevices for actuating said mechanism, and provisions for automaticallypreventing the simultaneous operation of .more than one of said devices.

7. A counting-machine, having a plurality of counting mechanism, anactuator for each mechanism, and pneumatic devices for automaticallypreventing the simultaneous operation of more than one of said countingmechanisms.

8. A counting-machine having mechanism for successively and continuouslycounting a plurality of votes or other items, and means forautomatically preventing the simultaneous counting of two or more votesor items without stopping the machine.

9. A counting-machine having means for feeding a sheet having the votesor items indicated thereon, a plurality of counters for successivelycounting said votes or items, and means for automatically rendering anytwo or more of said counters inoperative to prevent the simultaneouscount of certain votes or items without interrupting the feeding of thesheet.

' 10. A counting-machine having means for feeding a perforated sheet, aplurality of pneumatically-actuated counters controlled by theperforations in the sheet, and mechanism for automatically preventingthe simultaneous operation of two or more of said counters.

ll. A counting-machine having means for feeding a perforated sheet, aplurality of pneumatically-actuated counters controlled by theperforations in the sheet, and mechanism for automatically preventingthe simultaneous operation of two or more of said counters, saidmechanism being independent of said sheetfeeding means.

l2. A counting-machine having a series of counters, a series ofair-ducts, normally closed by a perforated sheet except when aperforation therein is in alinement with one of the said ducts, asuction-chamber, a series of airoperated devices, each adapted toactuate one of the counters when its corresponding airduct is open, andmeans for destroying the vacuum in the suction-chamber when two of thesaid ducts are simultaneously open.

13. A counting-machine having a series of air-ducts, each normallyclosed by a perforated sheet, except when a perforation in the latterregisters therewith, a series of air-operated counters, one for eachair-duct, and means for preventing the operation of said counters when4two or more of said ducts are open.

14. A counting-machine having a suctionchamber, a series of counters,pneumaticallyoperated devices each communicating by an air-duct withsaid suction-chamber for actuating one of said counters, a valve forclosing IOO IIO

15. A counting-machine comprising a mechanism for counting the votes,and automatic mechanism operating without stopping the machine toprevent the tabulating of two or more votes cast by the same voter fordifferent candidates for the same ofiice.

16. A counting-machine comprising a plurality of pneumatically-actuatedcounters, a duct leading to each of said counters, a channel-boardhaving a channel corresponding to each duct, a Wind-chamber between theducts and the channels, a valve interposed between l each duct and thewind-chamber, and means operable by the passage of air through onechannel for opening the valve for the corresponding duct, andsimultaneously connecting the other channels with the wind-chamber.

17.* A counting-machine comprising a plurality of pneumatically-actuatedcounters, a duct leading to each of said counters, a channel-boardhaving a channel corresponding to each duct, a Wind-chamber between theducts and the channels a valve interposed between each duct and thewind-chamber, a pneumatic actuator in each channel, a valve between eachchannel and the Wind chamber, and means whereby the passage of airthrough one channel opens the valve for the corresponding duct,

anld also opens the valves for the other channe s.

18. A counting-machine having a plurality of pneumatically-actuatedcounters, a plurality of channel-boards having channels corresponding tosaid counters, said channel-boards being graduated in height withthetallest in the center, and means for drawing a perforated sheet overthe edges of the said boards.

19. A counting-machine having a plurality of pneumatically-actuatedcounters, a plurality of channel-boards having channels corresponding tosaid counters, said channel-boards being graduated in height with thetallest in the center, means for drawing a perforated sheet over theedges of the said boards, and means for holding the sheet against thesaid boards.

BEST VlLBLE CCPE 20. A counting-machine, comprising counters pneumaticdevices for actuating said counters, bellows, sheet-feeding means, powerdevices for actuating said bellows, and sheetfeeding means, and.mechanism for automatically preventing the simultaneous actuation of twoor more counters.

21. A counting-machine having a plurality of pneumatically-actuatedcounters, a plurality of channel-boards having channels corresponding tosaid counters, means for passing a sheet over said boards, and a framefor holding said sheet against said boards.

22. A counting-machine having a plurality of pneumatically-actuatedcounters, a plurality of channel-boards having channels corre- .spondingto said counters, means for passing a sheet over said boards, and hingedframes carrying rolls for holding said sheet against said boards.

23. A counting-machine comprising a plurality of groups of counters,each group representing all the candidates for one oflice, or a set ofitems, a group of actuators for each group of counters, whereby countersin the several groups may be operated simultaneously, and mechanism foreach group of counters for preventing the simultaneous actuation of morethan one counter therein.

24. A counting-machine comprising a plurality of groups of counters,each group representing all the candidates for one oice, or a set ofitems, a group of actuators for each group of counters, whereby countersin the several groups may be operated simultaneously, and mechanism foreach group of counters for preventing the simultaneous actuation of morethan one counter therein, in combination with means for feeding a sheetin operative relation to said actuators, said sheet having perforationsfor the'several groups thereof.

25. A vote-counting machine having means for automatically preventingthe counting of two or more votes cast by the same voter for differentcandidates for the same oice, said means being entirely pneumatic inprinciple.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in thepresence of two subscribing' witnesses, this 27 th day of October, A. D.1897.

JOHN MCTAMMANY.

Witnesses:

MARCUS B. MAY, C. F. BROWN.

IOO

